


Never the Same Love Twice

by GirlwithCurls98



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 14:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14620197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlwithCurls98/pseuds/GirlwithCurls98
Summary: Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and the 501st are on a cramped transport home after another exhausting battle. There's not enough room for everyone.





	Never the Same Love Twice

**Author's Note:**

> "There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice." - The Great Gatsby

Anakin Skywalker was selfish. Not only was he selfish, he readily admitted it. Nine years of focusing on survival- and not much else- does that to a person. His Master had understood. More than understood, he defended his padawan against the harsh words of those who had been raised in the security of the Temple, who had never listened to their stomachs growl for days on end or peeled their sunburned skin off in sheets. So Obi-Wan gave Anakin second helpings before getting his first. He gave his student extra blankets and the first hot shower. And what Obi-Wan discovered, what he had suspected all along, is when you gave someone who had nothing everything they ever needed, they would want to give back. Anakin grew up fiercely protective, always willing to ensure others safety before his own. To the outside world, he was a model Jedi Knight. Altruistic. Intense. A hard exterior encasing a soft and gentle heart. Qui-Gon would have been proud. Obi-Wan certainly was.

But sometimes those old habits returned. Like now, when Anakin had been awake for over forty-eight hours, and hadn’t eaten in at least eighteen. Jedi had more stamina than the average civilians, but they were not unshakable. Sometimes they needed to think only of themselves, admit that they were drained of all energy. And that was okay. Every creature that draws breath, from the largest beast to the smallest bug, needs rest. 

Anakin kept all of this in mind as he boarded the already crowded transport ship. He waded through the sea of armored bodies to reach one of the last empty seats in the corner. He collapsed onto the bench, letting his head fall against the wall. It would take almost two hours to reach the cruiser, but before he could crash into a nutrient and sleep deprivation fueled power nap- something rippled in the Force nearby. 

He pried his eyes open and scanned the area, uncertain if what he was sensing was danger and 100% certain that he didn’t want to deal with it right now. Amid the noise and white and grey, there was a flash of orange and blue with another jolt of scattered energy and nervousness. Anakin smacked his head against the wall.  _ Stupid.  _ A Master could never think completely of themselves. No matter how old a Padawan got, the smallest whisper of thought would always be on them and their well-being. 

Soldiers were packed from wall to wall, and those who didn’t have a seat were huddled on the floor, a small comfort for their aching feet. Ahsoka’s eyes were darting for any space to squeeze her slight frame into. She was injured, he could tell, not severely, but even a faint echo of pain across their bond was enough to cause worry. Especially since she had been hiding it from him. 

_ /C’mere Snips. Back row./  _

Ahsoka’s head-tails flipped up as she spotted her Master, watching her with a smile that did not meet his tired eyes. She tiptoed over boots and blasters until she reached him, the clones assisting where they could. 

“Too many banthas and not enough barn, huh Master?” Now he knew she was hurt. Ahsoka wasn’t like him, terrified of feeling too much and losing control. But when something was really wrong? She coped by making jokes. 

He chuckled and nodded, reaching out with a gloved hand. “That might be true, but you still need to strap in.” And before she could protest, he tugged her onto his lap. 

“Skyguy!” she exclaimed, squirming as he secured the safety belt over the both of them, the rumbling of the transport engines only intensifying his movements. 

“You might as well relax Snips. I’d rather have bruised dignity than a bruised padawan.” 

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, even as she internally agreed with him. Once, as an initiate, she’d refused to fasten her crash webbing and had ended up with a broken wrist and a month of extra chores. And in any case, she was far too tired to complain. All she wanted was a hot shower, a plate of food, and a few hours of unbroken rest. Oh, and she’d probably have to find a way to sneak into the Medbay without her Master noticing. He was too protective for his own good sometimes, and, judging by the dark circles she could see under his eyes, the last thing he needed was to be worried about his overly clumsy Padawan. 

Warzones are hardy ever silent, so any prolonged period of quiet bothered the soldiers of the 501st. As the transport started its long journey, they started speaking in hushed tones, which soon gave way to jokes and thunderous laughter. They so rarely got a break from the battlefield, that even in their exhausted state, they were still desperate for an opportunity to lighten the mood and celebrate yet another miraculous escape. 

But Master and Padawan were content to sit quietly, each one absorbed in their own thoughts. They were talking, in a way, just not with words. Despite their young partnership, they had an incredibly strong mental bond, so while each one was going over the mission in their head, fragments of emotions would float across to the other person. But Ahsoka only thought her Master was contemplating the mission. Instead, he was scanning her, hiding behind his shields. She was injured, and if she wasn’t going to tell him, he could figure things out for himself. 

“So, what’s wrong with your arm?” 

Ahsoka jumped at that, and would have scrambled out of the seat had her Master not preemptively tightened his hold. He didn’t like startling her, but he needed her full attention. He watched her hesitate, knew she was close to denying it, but Anakin knew she couldn’t lie to him.  _ Shouldn’t lie to him. Shouldn’t be hiding things from me either _ , which in his book was nearly the same thing as lying. But he wasn’t mad at her, even if she had been hiding her injury. Ahsoka was still struggling to trust him when she was weak and vulnerable, believing that only the perfect, unfailing, unshakable could be apprenticed to the “Chosen One”.  _ If only you knew, Snips.  _  So he ultimately wasn’t surprised when she ducked her head, stripes on her lekku darkening as she blushed. 

“Stun bolt to the shoulder.” 

“Mhm.” Anakin replied, instantly understanding. “Hand cramping? Nerves tingling?” 

Ahsoka nodded, still fascinated with the dirt stains on her knees. 

“Does it hurt still?” 

Noncommittal noise. He nudged their bond.  _ /Verbal answer, please./  _

“Yes Master, but I can handle it. It should go away soon.” 

That wasn’t the point, the point was that she was in pain. Maybe in the middle of a firefight, he could understand her gritting her teeth and sucking it up so they could get through. But they were through. They were safe. She didn’t have to be in pain because she was afraid of seeming weak. 

“Which arm?” He knew which, but he wanted her to answer, wanted to keep her from swallowing herself whole. 

“Left.” The one that wasn’t tucked between the two Jedi. Anakin nodded, before tapping his finger under her chin, a silent request for eye contact. One breath in, one breath out, and she looked up, her face a perfect mask of control, though he couldn’t say the same for their bond. 

“Why don’t we get that fixed before we get to the cruiser? I’ll show you how.” 

Like Master, like Padawan. The idea of learning something new sparked light in her eyes. 

“But, I thought you weren’t good at Force Healing?” He couldn’t help but smile as her typical sass returned. 

“Now, who told you that?” 

Ahsoka didn’t miss a beat, mischief clearly written on her face. 

“Master Kenobi. He tells me a lot of things.” 

Anakin chuckled, resting his head back against the wall.  _ Of course he does.  _

“Obi-Wan only said that because of an incident that happened when I was a Padawan.” 

Ahsoka nodded, her eagerness to hear the story saturating the bond. 

“I was maybe twelve, and Obi-Wan had been working with me on the basic lightsaber katas. But I wanted to do the more advanced moves, and stubbornly thought I could learn them on my own. Sound familiar, Snips?” 

She blushed but refused to rise to the bait. “What happened? Did you get hurt?” 

“Oh yes. I tried to do a sequence I wasn’t ready for, and sprained my wrist.” 

Ahsoka looked disappointed at that. “But that doesn’t sound so bad.” 

“It wasn’t. But I didn’t want Obi-Wan to know that I’d been breaking the rules, so I tried to heal it on my own and ended up breaking all the bones in my hand.” 

Anakin watched his padawan gasp and collapse into a fit of giggles, loud enough that some of the troops glanced over, wondering what could possibly be so funny. 

“But I’ve improved since then!” he insisted, even as she leaned away from him, protecting her injured arm. 

“I don’t know Skyguy, not sure if I trust you.” She choked out between giggles. 

“Well right now, you’re trapped, little one.” He teased, capturing her in a tight hug. She squirmed for a moment, before resting her head on his shoulder. They caught their breath, drawing strength from the other, giving thanks for the fact they had both made it out alive. After a moment, Ahsoka straightened. 

“Alright, Master. Show me what to do.” 

Anakin took his padawan’s right hand and placed it on her left shoulder, before reaching behind her and placing his left hand on top of hers. No matter how much he tried, he still wasn’t a great healer with his prosthetic hand, and he wasn’t going to take that risk with his apprentice.  With practiced ease, he dropped into the Force, pulling Ahsoka down with him. 

_ /Reach out, and find what is hurt./  _ He extended his feelings towards her injury, pleased when she latched on and followed him, her energy bright and glowing. 

_ /Now, wrap the shoulder in the Force. Cool the swelling and the energy should transfer through the nerves and the muscle tissue./  _

Slowly, he began to entwine their two energies. It was shaky at first, but Ahsoka caught on quickly and the two wrapped themselves around each other, their Force signatures blending together until none could tell were Master ended and Padawan began. United, they bathed her shoulder in healing energies, sending rivers of cooling light down her arm until her nerves stopped twitching and the muscles were no longer spasming. Anakin could feel the tension bleed out of her, gratitude and peace coming off of her in waves, for the first time since the battle had begun many days ago. 

_ /Thank you, Master./ _

_ /That was all you, Snips. I just helped./  _

_ /How long ‘till we get home?/  _

_ /Just sleep, little one. I’ll wake you when we get there./  _

In the end, they both slept. Master tightened embrace around Padawan, Padawan tightened hold on Master’s tunic. Both gave themselves permission to sleep, feeling safer than normal. If danger threatened, both Master and Padawan would know where the other was. They’d be able to protect each other. 

Anakin Skywalker was selfish. He was selfish because he’d face every enemy in the cosmos if it meant keeping his Padawan safe. Not anyone else’s.  _ His  _ Padawan. Just as Ahsoka would do for  _ her  _ Master. Anakin was selfish, but he didn’t mind. Because if he wasn’t a Jedi, they wouldn’t have called him selfish for wanting to protect and care for her, for Obi-Wan, for his troops. They would’ve called it love. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short one that popped into my head. I hope you like it! I reply to every comment, and constructive criticism is the best ever!


End file.
